It's a jungle out there, but a funny one

Skippers like to say that when the boat tracks through here, guests can see the "back side of water." GREGG L. COOPER

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David Marley of Costa Mesa, tries his hand at stand-up comedy by tossing out a few jokes during the "Skipper Show." MARK EADES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jeff Wheeler of Los Alamitos, has worked at Disneyland for 23 years now, during the first 17, he worked in attractions, with many of those years as a Jungle Cruise skipper. He tosses out a few one-liners during the "Skipper Show." MARK EADES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Skippers like to say that when the boat tracks through here, guests can see the "back side of water." GREGG L. COOPER

Famous skippers of Jungle Cruise

The Jungle Cruise was one of the first rides built at Disneyland because Walt Disney wanted the foliage to have time to grow up around the attraction. Over the years, more than 200 million people have ridden the Jungle Cruise, according to park officials, and a handful of skippers have gone on to fame and fortune.

Not among them: Contrary to Internet rumors, Disneyland officials say neither Robin Williams nor Steve Martin were skippers on the Jungle Cruise. Martin did work at the Magic Shop on Main Street.

Trevor Kelly has been banned from ever working at Disneyland, or any park contracted with Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck or Indiana Jones, for that matter.

The story behind why he can't work there anymore seems right out of a Disney screwball comedy starring Dean Jones. Following a storied tradition of employees pulling pranks on the final day at work, Kelly dressed up as Indiana Jones, stole the magic lamp during a performance of the musical “Aladdin” – halting the show at the happiest place on earth.

Kelly was a skipper on Disneyland's Jungle Cruise, a popular ride featuring a wacky group of “captains” with a penchant for puns and a drive for growing skills beyond their narration on the fake river with the mechanized wildlife that fill their days. Skippers have gone on to start movie studios, win Oscars and perform at the Comedy Store.

A couple of times a year, Kelly and other alums perform the “Skipper Show,” cracking wise with their own stand-up routines.

Like Kelly's flamboyant exit that he says led to the ban, the “Skipper Show” pushes boundaries of the Walt Disney faithful. A routine by Joey Hurley, showing how wonderful a world it would not have been if Walt had tipped the bottle on camera, raised some eyebrows and drew nervous laughter from an audience over the weekend at the Southern California DeMolay center in Anaheim.

It was all in fun and for a good cause. This month's show was a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fullerton, the hosting Disneyland Alumni Club's chosen charity this year.

That aspiring Steve Martins or Andy Kaufmans might end up on the Jungle Cruise is no surprise. The Jungle Cruise is a classroom for stand-up comedy, conducted every eight minutes during a typical Disneyland day. The “Skipper Show” helped launch a stand-up career for Kip Hart, who began landing gigs at the Improv, the Comedy Store and other clubs around Southern California. He continues to work as a skipper during the day.

“You're working under the toughest audiences every day on that ride for eight hours a day,” Hart said.

Sometimes, their sense of humor can go overboard. Skippers on the Jungle Cruise are notorious for last-day pranks at the park.

Some have dressed up the mechanical natives in bikinis – or undressed them. But Kelly's last bow in 2001 went too far for his bosses.

The skippers had a friendly competition with the talent at nearby attractions, “Aladdin – The Musical Spectacular” and the Indiana Jones Adventure, next to Jungle Cruise, which has been running since the park opened in 1955.

Kelly dressed up as Indiana Jones and burst onto the stage mid-performance.

“This belongs in a museum,” Kelly screamed, as he snatched the lantern, striking the stunned actors silent.

The video of Kelly's show-stopper has become a highlight for “Skipper Show” audiences. Kelly planned the scheme for weeks, arranging for the practical jokes to be recorded.

He even had a decoy Indy waiting on Main Street to distract any possible security. He mapped out security cameras, trying to avoid them.

David Marley, a former skipper and history professor at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, teaches a summer-term History of Disneyland class. He started the “Skipper Show” in Anaheim in 2005, and it soon regularly began selling out.

Jeff Wheeler, a 26-year cast member, gets plenty of material from still working at the park.

“I moved to maintenance recently, and after being the old veteran on the Jungle Cruise, I became the new young guy in maintenance,” Wheeler told the audience. “I went from hearing stories about people staying up all night at a party, to guys staying in bed all night without having to pee.”

The Jungle Cruise allows comedians to work on timing and reading a crowd.

“The crowd will tell you what's funny,” Hart said. “You have to know how to listen to them.”

Disneyland provides some of the toughest comedy crowds on earth. Club comics may get drunken hecklers. Skippers get teenagers, crying babies, people for whom English is a second language and crowds that have been waiting in long lines on hot summer days.

Kelly and Hurley have headlined every “Skipper Show” since it opened.

Hurley said he once held the record for most visitor compliments on the Jungle Cruise.

Kelly had a more dubious tenure, but it's given him years of material in the “Skipper Show.”

After stealing the lantern, Kelly shed the Indy costume backstage.

He ditched the lantern, too, thinking if Disney decided to press charges it wouldn't include stealing.

His preparations for a clean escape paid off.

“I made it out the gate, and as I was leaving – I'm not making this up – the Indiana Jones music was playing,” Kelly said. “It was the best moment of my life. Sad to say, but it's true.”

Skippers and their lines

The script on the Jungle Cruise isn't strict. It's just a suggestion, and skippers on the Disneyland ride are free to interject their own lines.

Skippers love puns. And they love to entertain one other.

"Skippers usually save their biggest lines for last, pulling back into the dock, so other skippers can hear them," said former skipper Trevor Kelly. "The docks are where you want to shine."

Some of the performers in the "Skipper Show" shared their favorite lines:

•During a point in the ride where mechanized warriors spring up with spears aimed at the boat: "Calm down, calm down. This is just another presentation of Shakes Spear." – Kip Hart (2004-present).

•At a stop where a rhinoceros has chased a group of men up a pole and is ready to gore the one on the bottom: "That rhino will get his point across – in the end." – Jeff Wheeler (1990-present).

•Pulling up to the dock: "I'd like to thank the California work-release program for allowing me to spend time with you and your children." – Kelly (2001).

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